Wet work exposure: comparison of observed and self-reported data

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Dermatology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Wet work is a primary cause of occupational hand eczema.
• Accurate assessment of wet work exposure is crucial for understanding its prevalence and impact.
• The validity of self-reported wet work data, commonly used in research, requires thorough investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity of self-reported wet work exposure by comparing it with direct workplace observations.
• To identify discrepancies in reporting duration and frequency of wet work across different professions.
• To inform more accurate methods for assessing occupational wet work exposure.

Main Methods:

• 114 workers from 15 wet work professions were observed for wet work duration and frequency.
• Both observed and non-observed workers completed questionnaires on wet work activities.
• Correspondence analysis was used to compare self-reported data with observational findings.

Main Results:

• Misclassification was more pronounced for wet work duration than frequency.
• Significant percentages of workers overestimated (29.2%) or underestimated (23.9%) total daily wet work by over 2 hours.
• Observed workers were more likely to report over 2 hours of wet work daily compared to non-observed workers (OR 2.8).
• The questionnaire demonstrated 51% sensitivity and 59% specificity for total wet work in the observed group.

Conclusions:

• Self-reported wet work data exhibits notable misclassification when compared to direct observations.
• Both overestimation and underestimation of wet work are equally distributed among workers.
• The findings highlight the need for improved methods to accurately quantify wet work exposure in occupational settings.